Computers have become a significant tool in education. Education-oriented computers range from multi-function personal computers to dedicated hand held computational devices. Personal computers are used to teach a wide variety of complex subjects, in addition to providing testing and analyzation functions. Hand held devices may perform simpler educational functions such as spelling and mathematical quizzes. Quizzes presented via hand held computers generally provide a prompt to the user to input an answer through a keyboard, with a reward if the correct answer is given. Hand held computers however usually are not able to analyze substantial amounts of data.
Hand held devices have thus been incorporated into a larger integrated educational system including a personal computer in order to analyze test response data. In such case, hand held devices are normally hardwired to a centralized personal computer. When so connected, hand held devices do not operate independent of the central computer but, rather, depend on the central computer for both control functions and data storage. If the hand held device is disconnected from the central computer, data stored herein is lost and the device becomes inoperable.
The central computer in such integrated educational systems normally includes a main Central Processing Unit (CPU) to control the functions thereof. Each of the interconnected hand held devices may have a secondary CPU associated therewith for performance of functions, such as keyboard scanning which are independent of the main CPU. However, the secondary CPU still shares common data and address busses with the main CPU and is thus dependent on the main CPU.
The requirement of hard wiring hand held devices to the central computer provides severe limitations on the utilization of the hand held devices. There thus exists a need for an educational system utilizing hand held devices which may interface with a centralized computer, but which have the capability to operate independently of the centralized computer.